In general, this venture capitalist thinks those who lived through the last bubble are better off for it. They have seen how wrong things can go and they don’t want to go there again.

Are some scars not so healthy, he asks? His firm, Union Square Ventures, made four investments last year and will make five this year. In other words, are these guys not stepping on the gas for fear they might get burned? If so, are they losing out because of it?

“There are VCs who are stepping on the gas right now and are getting rewarded for it. Are we being too cautious because of the scars we carry on our back from the last bubble? It’s impossible to know. But hindsight will tell us the answer in a few years.

“I was in a board meeting recently and the founder, who ran a different company during the bubble, was talking about his team. He said the team was getting a bit uneasy about all the new hires that the company is making. It reminds them of the time they bulked up in the last bubble. And that bulking up caused a lot of pain when the market broke.

“Pattern recognition is human nature. When you’ve seen the movie before, you know how it ends. And so all of us who carry the scars from the last bubble are going to think twice before we make the same moves again.

“But what if the same moves we made last time are the right moves to make this time?”

Now that’s the rub. Wilson’s opinion?

“We cannot forget the lessons from that last bubble. But we cannot fight the last war either. As much as things look similar to the last time, they are not identical. This will play out differently. I am not sure how differently but I know that it won’t be the same.”

Let’s hope he’s right. At least we are asking questions this time. And many venture capitalists seem to be doing a better job discerning innovation from hype. It’s a lot to ask with all of that money burning holes in khaki pockets around Silicon Valley these days.